Our Wedding Blog

Keswick 11/5/17 Keswick 11/5/17

Another First! | Joshua & David

On Sunday, November 5th, Joshua and David were married at Keswick Vineyards. Joshua and David chose to have their ceremony on the front porch of Edgewood Estate. This was the very first time in 7 years that a couple decided on this location. What made this location even more special was their grand entrance.

The wedding party made their way to the aisle by alternating which side of the fountain they would walk on. There was a dramatic delay when, all of a sudden, you could hear a car approaching from the private drive way. Joshua and David were driven to the top of the fountain by a private car. When they exited, they each walked on opposite sides of the fountain. When they met in the middle they joined hands and walked the aisle together to the alter. LOVED IT!!!!!!

Joshua was a hands-on groom and did most of the decorating himself. I just love some of his ideas. The first one was an item he had on the welcome table. He had created a memorable frame thing that had cute little items on displayed like concert tickets, love letters, places they had been to, etc. This gave all guests a little glimpse into their dating life. Very clever.

The other decorating item he did was to hang mason jars from our giant, 300+ year old oak tree with lights in them. It reminded me of a scene from the Disney movie, Tangled. He threw balls of twine up and over the branches of the tree and then hung the mason jars at different heights. Hard to really appreciate how beautiful it looked at night from my photos so you will just have to take my word for it. He also attached a “love” sign to the trunk of the oak tree and hung some battery-operated string lights in nearby small trees.

Guests enjoyed a delicious buffet dinner followed by dancing the night away. And, when taking a break from dancing, guests could take some funny photos in the photo booth to create a memory album for the couple.

Special thanks to the following vendors:

Wedding Planner: Nikki Martin, Catering: Harvest Moon Catering, Officiant: Colin Kuhn, Desserts: Sweethaus, DJ: T.D. Layman of Sound Enforcement, Photographer: Jessica Smith, Photo Booth: Photo Booth of Charlottesville, Rentals: Skyline Tent Company.

Keswick 11/4/17 Keswick 11/4/17

Not Another Rainy Day :( | Erin & Rafe

What a difference a day can make. Yesterday was a beautiful, warm fall day and then today was a cold, wet fall day. I think the temperature dropped 30 degrees overnight. But, regardless of the weather, Erin and Rafe’s love for each other was as hot as ever as they celebrated their wedding on Saturday, November 4th, at Keswick Vineyards.

Erin and Rafe chose to do a first look which I highly recommend for our fall couples. With it getting dark outside much earlier, it is nice to get some of the photos out of the way while there is plenty of daylight. Both Erin and Rafe and the rest of their wedding party were such good sports dealing with the drizzle throughout the day. For a moment, we even thought we might get a break and be able to have the ceremony outside until I took one more look at the radar. No such luck. Radar was showing that the sky would be opening up right at ceremony time and it sure did. Thankfully everyone was under the tent and we just went with our rain plan for their ceremony.

Unlike the rain plan we had to do the previous weekend in which we divided the tent with one side for ceremony and the other for the reception, this wedding we did the ceremony at the top of the dance floor. The best way to describe this rain plan is that it is like a play yet the lights don’t go down. We have our props ready to go and just move items like chairs and tables as needed as we move from ceremony to cocktail hour to reception.

It is always a relief at the end of the night to hear from the couple that despite the rain they had such a great time and their guests said it was the best wedding and the most beautiful wedding they had ever been to!

Special thanks to the following vendors for making that possible:

Wedding Planner: Dickie Morris with Just a Little Ditty, Catering: C&O Restaurant, DJ: Derek Tobler, Photographer: Kristen Finn, Hair: Brianna Adams, Make-up: Rouge 9, Florals: Chris De Jong, Transportation: Charlottesville City School buses, Rentals: Skyline Tent Company, Desserts: Rachel De Jong, Officiant: Ted Munter.

Keswick 11/3/17 Keswick 11/3/17

An Abundance of Luck | Gabrielle & Nicholas

Well, Gabrielle and Nicholas were very happy with the beautiful, warm fall wedding day they were given. Isn’t that the only thing a couple worries about for an all outdoor wedding? So, we thought until this day. On Friday, November 3, 2017, Gabrielle and Nicholas were married at Keswick Vineyards among thousands of lady bugs! Yes, lady bugs. It was comical with how many there were. I’ve never seen such a thing. For a few hours, they were everywhere. There was nothing anyone could do, but to embrace them and work them into their day. After all, they are good luck, right???? If so, then this couple has an abundance of good luck that will last them their life time together and beyond!

I just love how Gabrielle had 2 dresses for her wedding day. She wore a traditional wedding dress for the ceremony and for some photos. She then disappeared and did a quick change that was a surprise to Nicholas. She appeared in this beautiful, floral formal dress. I just couldn’t help but take a lot of photos of her in this dress. It was a jaw dropper!

As guests made their way to the reception they had waiting for them on their plate an antique key. This was no ordinary key. This key could be used as a bottle opener! What a cute party favor. Also, under the tent, a photo booth was waiting to capture silly photos of all the guests. Guests have so much fun doing this!

Thanks to the following vendors for being “lucky” enough to help celebrate in this special marriage!

Wedding Planner: All in Events, Officiant: Dave Norris, Caterer: Travinia Italian Kitchen, Desserts: My Tiny Bakery, DJ: T.D. Layman of Sound Enforcement, Photographer: Sarah Houston Photography, Hair & Makeup: Creative Images Hair & Makeup Artistry, Florals: Blooming Occasion, Photo Booth: The Photo Booth Company, Rentals: MS Events.

Keswick 10/29/17 Keswick 10/29/17

First Time for Everything | Jennifer & Dustin

Well, I knew it would happen eventually, rain. It is the one thing that anyone that is planning an outdoor wedding fears. Fortunately, Keswick Vineyards has a rain plan that works out just fine, even if you lose power!

Yes, on Sunday, October 29th, Jennifer and Dustin were married at Keswick Vineyards. Only, mother Nature did not provide them with the beautiful fall day they hoped for. Instead, it was a cold, wet and windy day. So, what do our couples do when Mother Nature doesn’t give them a beautiful day? We do our rain plan and as you can see, it is still beautiful!

Jennifer’s dad made a huppah for their ceremony. He brought the white birch used for this structure all the way from Maine. Jennifer and Dustin chose to split our Sperry tent in half providing one side for the ceremony and the other side for the reception. By doing this configuration, all the guests were able to sit comfortably under the tent facing the vineyard, essentially having the same view they would have had if the ceremony was outdoors. We removed the clear sides of the tent behind the huppah so their photos would still showcase the outdoors. Once photos were done we put the sides back on to enclose the tent and start up the heaters to keep everyone warm.

The winds that night caught everyone off guard. We knew it was going to rain all day but no one had forecasts the winds that were heading our way. Just as everyone made their way through the buffet line we lost power! This is the first time in 7 years for us to lose power in the middle of a wedding. Thankfully, we have generators! Immediately the carriage house was up and running so lights, water, toilets, etc. never really stopped. Under the tent, it took us about 5-10 minutes to get all the generators running and plugged everything into them. Once that was completed, the lights, heaters, music, etc. were back on and the wedding continued.

Sometimes when your wedding day goes like this, it is one that everyone will remember. It might not have been your “dream” wedding, but it is still your wedding. The main thing is that you are now married. Couples booking an outdoor venue must be comfortable with the fact that Mother Nature may not give them that perfect weather day and be OK with that. If not, stick to an indoor venue. But, I think you can see by my photos, that this wedding was just as beautiful and that the couple still had a wonderful time along with their guests.

Thanks to the following vendors who weathered the storm with us:

Wedding Planner & Florals: Logan Powell of Real Southern Accents, Catering: Goodrich Gourmet, Desserts: Shenandoah Sweets, DJ: Mark Allen of Class Productions DJ Service, Hair & Make-Up: Glo-out Glamour Bar, Rentals: Skyline Tent Company.